China and Nicaragua signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in a virtual ceremony held on August 31st. Nicaragua was represented by Laureano Ortega Murillo, Presidential Advisor for the Promotion of Investments, Trade and International Cooperation, and China by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Laureano Ortega said that it was a historic day, adding that:
“The signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Nicaragua and China will mark a before and after for the Nicaraguan people. It opens the doors to a huge market and will allow us to link up with the companies and businessmen of this sister country.”
“We are convinced that this will generate economic and social benefits for Nicaraguan families, new investments, the creation of more jobs, and the transfer of technologies from China to Nicaragua. It will also provide the opportunity for a greater presence of China in Nicaragua and we reiterate that Nicaragua must be considered by China as a commercial platform for the entire Central American region”.
He pointed out that the relations between the two countries are based on mutual respect and on recognising each other as allies and strategic partners, and this is the only way to explain why they have managed to complete the FTA negotiations in just one year.
This is a significant point as FTA negotiations are generally regarded as one of the most intricate areas of diplomacy and can often take years to negotiate.
Minister Wang Wentao said that the signing of the FTA is the result of the diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua, which are under the personal attention and leadership of the two presidents, and the mutual trust of the two countries that has been growing through substantial cooperation and has advanced at high speed and at a high level, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries.
Laureano, at the end of the signing expressed that:
“We reiterate our deep gratitude to the brother government and people of the People’s Republic of China for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement. We promise to carry out the corresponding actions for its entry into force in January 2024. Today in Nicaragua a sun illuminates us and shines brighter in the light of the signing of this agreement that fills us with hope and optimism. We feel strengthened and we are certain that from now on we will see the fruits of this work with the greatest presence of Chinese brothers in our country that will promote economic and social development on the path to prosperity.”
In its report, China Daily noted comments from Dong Jingsheng, deputy director of Peking University’s Latin America Research Centre, who observed that China and Nicaragua are at different phases of development with high economic complementarity in industrial structures and diversity in resources.
He added that the signing of the FTA will foster a more favourable climate for expanding trade and investment partnerships and give both nations’ long-term growth a boost.
China will offer a sizable market for Nicaragua’s high-quality agricultural and aquatic products, and Nicaragua could import goods such as computers, motorcycles and communication equipment, Dong said.
Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises, with their comparative advantages in capital, technology, and managerial experience, could scale up investment and cooperation in sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing, and telecommunications, to increase local employment opportunities, improve public welfare and drive sustainable growth, he added.
The same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin described the FTA as the most important achievement in the bilateral practical cooperation since the resumption of diplomatic relations.
“Since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations, we have witnessed leapfrog development in bilateral relations, deepening political mutual trust and fruitful practical cooperation. The dividends of resuming diplomatic relations continue to be felt. These have fully proved that the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua is in line with the trend of history and the times and serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples”.
The following articles were originally carried by Kawsachun News, China Daily and Xinhua News Agency.
Nicaragua & China Sign Free Trade Agreement
Kawsachun News, 31 August 2023
In a virtual ceremony, Nicaragua and the People’s Republic of China made history with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that will allow a better and greater commercial and economic exchange between the two nations.
Nicaragua was represented by Laureano Ortega Murillo, Presidential Advisor for the Promotion of Investments, Trade and International Cooperation; the Minister of Finance and Credit, Iván Acosta and the Minister of Public Works, Industry and Commerce, Jesús Bermúdez. The Chinese delegation headed by Mr. Wang Wentao, head of Chinese Commerce.
Laureano Ortega Murillo expressed on behalf of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity that it was a historic day.
“The signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Nicaragua and China will mark a before and after for the Nicaraguan people. It opens the doors to a huge market and will allow us to link up with the companies and businessmen of this sister country”, indicated Ortega Murillo.
“We are convinced that this will generate economic and social benefits for Nicaraguan families, new investments, the creation of more jobs, the transfer of technologies from China to Nicaragua. It will also provide the opportunity for a greater presence of China in Nicaragua and we reiterate that Nicaragua must be considered by China as a commercial platform for the entire Central American region”, he added.
The Presidential Adviser said that they welcome companies and businessmen from the People’s Republic of China, which will be provided with all the facilities and incentives provided by Nicaraguan law to invest in the country and to promote commercial exchange. .
He pointed out that the relations between the two countries are based on mutual respect and on recognizing each other as allies and strategic partners, and this is the only way to explain why they have managed to complete the FTA negotiations in just one year.
“Both governments and peoples have recognized the importance of strengthening commercial exchange as a fundamental piece to solidify the ties of cooperation and friendship. On behalf of the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Commander Daniel Ortega Saavedra and the Vice President of the Republic of Nicaragua Compañera Rosario Murillo, the President of the People’s Republic of China, brother, comrade Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China for the attention so special that they give to the relationship with Nicaragua,” he asserted.
He also thanked the Chinese Foreign Minister which has been promoting the negotiation process together with colleagues from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Vice Minister Wang Shouwen and the team of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for for his continued work and effort, as well as the entire Nicaraguan negotiating team, led by the Minister of Development and Commerce, Compañero Jesús Bermúdez and supervised by the Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Compañero Iván Acosta.
The Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China stated that the signing of the FTA is the result of diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua under the personal attention and leadership of the two presidents and the mutual trust of the two countries that it has been growing from substantial cooperation has advanced at high speed and at a high level bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries.
“It is another example of this substantial, high-speed, high-level cooperation. Since China and Nicaragua started the FTA negotiations in July 2022, it has only taken a year to concretize the negotiations and reach a high-level and highly beneficial result in various aspects”, he said.
“The China-Nicaragua FTA is an important initiative to implement the consensus of the leaders of both countries and constitutes an important event in history, in trade relations between the two countries,” Wentao said.
He added that China always firmly supports the independent attention of the Nicaraguan part of a path that it develops according to its national conditions and firmly supports Nicaragua’s social and economic development, development strategies and will take advantage of the FTA as an opportunity to organize mutual cooperation. beneficial relationship between trade and investment between the two countries.
“Today we have signed the China-Nicaragua FTA, which constitutes an important milestone in the history of bilateral economic and commercial relations. When the Agreement enters into force, it will provide better functional situations for economic and commercial exchanges and will firmly promote bilateral cooperation,” he said.
Laureano, at the end of the signing expressed: “We reiterate our deep gratitude to the brother Government and people of the People’s Republic of China for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, we promise to carry out the corresponding actions for its entry into force in January 2024. Today in Nicaragua a sun illuminates us and shines brighter in the light of the signing of this agreement that fills us with hope and optimism, we feel strengthened and we are certain that from now on we will see the fruits of this work with the greatest presence of Chinese brothers in our country that will promote economic and social development on the path to prosperity”.
“Today we celebrate this great milestone, convinced that together, Nicaragua and China will be able to lead our peoples to prosperity, eradicate poverty and work for the shared destiny of humanity. Long live the brotherhood between Nicaragua and China! ” he concluded.
China, Nicaragua sign free-trade agreement
China Daily, 31 August 2023
China and Nicaragua signed a free-trade agreement on Thursday after a year of negotiations, which experts said will bring out the greater potential of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and deliver concrete benefits to the two peoples.
China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Laureano Ortega, adviser on investment, trade and international cooperation to the Nicaraguan president, signed the agreement via video link, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The FTA would allow for high-level mutual opening between the two nations in the fields of trade in goods and services and access to the investment sector. It also marks a significant milestone in China-Nicaragua bilateral economic and trade relations, the ministry said.
It will assist in delivering the benefits of the two nations’ diplomatic ties being resumed. Furthermore, it will also enhance and elevate China-Nicaragua collaboration and bring benefits to both countries and their peoples, according to the statement.
The two sides will expedite domestic steps to see that the FTA takes effect and is implemented at an early date, the ministry said.
Despite their geographical distance, China and Nicaragua’s economic links have grown robustly since the resumption of diplomatic relations in December 2021, said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The two sides have completed four rounds of FTA negotiations since last July and swiftly reached the deal, underscoring the urgent need for both countries to intensify economic and trade cooperation and establish institutional frameworks, Zhou said, adding that this is in line with the expectations of businesses in both countries’ markets.
Through the agreement, China and Nicaragua are looking forward to building stronger networks of economic and trade cooperation that will benefit more nations in Latin America, as part of efforts to hasten the post-pandemic global economic recovery, he added.
Nicaragua is China’s fifth FTA partner in Latin America after Chile, Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Negotiations for the FTA began in July 2022, according to the ministry.
In 2022, bilateral trade was around $760 million, with China’s imports from Nicaragua growing 43.7 percent year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China.
China and Nicaragua are at different phases of development with high economic complementarity in industrial structures and diversity in resources, said Dong Jingsheng, deputy director of Peking University’s Latin America Research Center.
He added that the signing of the FTA will foster a more favorable climate for expanding trade and investment partnerships and give both nations’ long-term growth a boost.
China will offer a sizable market for Nicaragua’s high-quality agricultural and aquatic products, and Nicaragua could import goods such as computers, motorcycles and communication equipment, Dong said.
More than 90 percent of all merchandise traded between the two countries will eventually be subject to zero tariffs, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises, with their comparative advantages in capital, technology and managerial experience, could scale up investment and cooperation in sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing and telecommunications, to increase local employment opportunities, improve public welfare and drive sustainable growth, he added.
China-Nicaragua FTA most important achievement since resumption of diplomatic ties: FM spokesperson
Xinhua, 31 August 2023
BEIJING, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) — China and Nicaragua officially signed a free trade agreement on Thursday, which is the most important achievement in the bilateral practical cooperation since the resumption of diplomatic relations, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Thursday.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing that the milestone agreement will further stimulate the potential of investment and trade cooperation and open up broader prospects for practical cooperation between the two countries.
The two sides have efficiently completed the negotiations on the free trade agreement within one year since the launch in July 2022, fully demonstrating the high-level mutual trust between the two countries and a shared readiness to step up practical cooperation, Wang said.
“Since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations, we have witnessed leapfrog development in bilateral relations, deepening political mutual trust and fruitful practical cooperation. The dividends of resuming diplomatic relations continue to be felt. These have fully proved that the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua is in line with the trend of history and the times, and serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples,” he said.
Wang added that China is ready to work with Nicaragua to promote bilateral relations to a new height and bring more benefits to the peoples.
I am from Vancouver,Canada and i wanted to say that this is a good Trade Agreement and it will allow Nicaragua to improve its Economy despite the Brutal ongoing Yankee Sanctions against Nicaragua.
These Sanctions are imposed on Latin American countries that have good relations with China and Russia. This Blackmail by the US Gov’t in Latin America will backfire on the USA.The BRICS countries are making good progress and will continue to do that in all parts of the world.